


Five Times the Haddock's Dragons Died With Them Present, and the One Time a Haddock Died With His Dragon Present

by Narsil5



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Blood and Injury, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Uncanonical Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-23 10:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narsil5/pseuds/Narsil5
Relationships: Astrid Hofferson & Stormfly, Cloudjumper & Valka (How to Train Your Dragon), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Nuffink Haddock & Toothful, Nuffink Haddock & White Night Light, Nuffink Haddock/Original Female Character(s), Stoick the Vast & Skullcrusher, Zephyr Haddick & Aura, Zephyr Haddock & Black Night Light with Blue Eyes, Zephyr Haddock/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 17





	1. Astrid & Stormfly

Astrid looped above the ships that had dared follow them. Years of hunting made the Dragon Hunters adept at the sport, and the sudden lack of dragons hit them hard. They had immediately tracked the Berkians to their new island, and then followed Hiccup and Astrid and Nuffink and Zephyr—despite all the precautions they had taken—to the Hidden World. Astrid felt guilty, but she knew that no enemies could be allowed to escape with the knowledge of the location of the dragons. 

One ship remained at the end of the battle—Astrid was proud of her children, for they had been incredibly helpful, despite them being only in their early teens—and Astrid and Stormfly dove towards it. The final magnesium blast would finish the Hunters off—and it did. 

But something shot off that ship, hitting Stormfly dead in the center of her chest. “No!” Astrid screamed. Stormfly screamed in pain, spiraling down. For several terrifying seconds Astrid thought they were going to plummet into the dark depths of the Hidden World, but instead they landed—very clumsily—on one of the rocks at its edge. “Oh no,” Astrid started panicking, an emotion that, though she tried her hardest, she was feeling in that moment. 

Blood streamed out of the dragon’s wound, and a low caw was all that Stormfly was able to manage before her head thumped down gently on the ground and she lay still. 

“Oh, gods,” Astrid knelt by her dragon’s side, head in her hands. 

Hiccup and Toothless landed besides them. “Astrid, I’m so sorry,” Hiccup said quietly. “She was a good dragon. I’m sure she’s going to Valhalla—she died in battle.” He lay a hand on his wife’s shoulder as their children gathered around. 

The family mourned together, as they had done many things together before. No one spoke, for no one had anything to say.


	2. Zephyr & Aura

“What did you give her?” Zephyr demanded, glaring at the man before her. She had considered him a friend—perhaps even more--until now, when he gave Aura some sort of a drug. He had even proposed, but she realized now that it was all a ploy to get himself into the Hidden World. 

“I’ve given her dragon root,” The boy said blandly. “Also known as blue oleander—your father’s stories mentioned it, do you remember those? The greatest danger to dragons that stems from the plant world.” 

In any other situation, Zephyr would have found his puns charming—but not this one. “Antidote! Now! You lying trickster son of LOKI! GIVE ME THE ANTIDOTE!” She unsheathed her sword and held it at his chest, breathing hard. 

“I don’t have one,” He laughed lazily. “Why would I bring one on a murder mission? It completely defeats the purpose of the job. No, the nearest antidote is several islands away, days or weeks—depending on whether you go by dragon or by boat. There’s no way she’s going to make it.” 

“Why?” Zephyr asked hopelessly. “Why would you do this? I thought you were our friend. You grew up on New Berk with us—why did you change? When did you change? How come I didn’t notice?” 

“I can answer all your questions,” His smooth voice infuriated Zephyr in a way it never had before. “I did it because, years and years ago, my grandparents were carried off by dragons. The scars of that incident followed my father all his life—my childhood was a living hell. So, I’m taking revenge upon the species that killed him—it was a Night Fury that carried him off, probably your father’s, now that I think about it.” 

“As for when,” He reached a hand out and tipped Zephyr’s head up so she was looking at him rather than where she had the blade pointed at his chest. “I have always been like this. You were simply too blinded by love of me to see it.” 

“I hate you,” Zephyr’s voice was shaky. “I hate you.” 

“Now, now.” He laughed. “I’m sure in another life, another world, we could have been happy. But not this one. And I am sorry about that—I feel I almost could have really loved you.” With that, he climbed up the rope he had used to lower himself into the Hidden World, leaving Zephyr with the spasming dragon. 

“I’m so sorry, Aura,” Zephyr murmured, petting her dragon’s side as she whimpered in pain. There was nothing to do to ease the pain—except end it, for good. “You were the best friend I ever had.” 

She raised her sword, and in one swift moment the dragon’s life was ended.


	3. Nuffink & Toothful

“C’mon, Toothful, higher!” Nuffink laughed as they burst through yet another patch of clouds. While his father had never wished to visit the Hidden World after his initial intrusion, he had never forbidden others from doing it. Now Nuffink was a grown man, and engaged, making him his own master. 

The two landed on a large crystal—not the large crystal, but a beautiful one, nonetheless. Nuffink stretched his legs out and leaned back on his hands, a deep sigh of contentment escaping him. “Toothful, you’ll never guess wha’ happened the other day. Ye remember the lass I mentioned to ye a few times before?” 

Toothful tilted his head at the blond-haired man before him and rumbled softly as a question. 

“She said yes when I asked her,” Nuffink could not contain his grin. “We’re getting' married this spring, buddy. Think ye can make it outta here to visit for the big event?” 

Toothless made a happy noise and nuzzled his boy. Something made a sound nearby, and Toothful’s head shot up. His pupils turned to slits, his teeth bared, and he growled into the night. 

‘A rogue dragon,’ Nuffink realized, staring off into the dark just as Toothful was doing, but with less success. He wasn’t worried, though; rogues were rare occurrences, and never that major. A Fury could take it, he reasoned. No big deal. 

The dragon that crawled out of the cave was nothing like what Nuffink had ever seen before, though. It had great fangs and a scorpion like tail, and its mere existence gave Nuffink the chills. His mind raced, trying to place the species—surely, he had heard about it from Fishlegs at some point. 

He realized with dread that he did. 

It was a Death Gripper. “Um. Hey there, big boy...” Nuffink stepped back carefully, hoping that since it wasn’t currently under someone’s control, that maybe it wouldn’t be too aggressive. “We’re jus’ gonna...head on away from ‘ere...” He reached out for Toothful. 

The beast lunged, and Nuffink saw his life flash before his eyes. He wondered vaguely if HIldagard would miss him, and how his family would do once he was gone. He braced himself for the impact. 

It never came. 

When he opened his eyes, Nuffink saw two dragons rolling about on the crystals in a deadly battle for Nuffink’s survival. “Hey!” Nuffink screamed, drawing his knife. “Get offa my friend!” He stood over the scrum of talons and teeth and fire. At just the right moment, he plunged the knife down. 

The two fell apart, the Death Gripper lying dead upon the bloodstained rock. Nuffink took deep breaths, trying to bring his heart rate back down to a more normal speed. “Well. Tha' were interestin’, ay Tooths?” He glanced over at Toothful, who he had assumed was simply catching his breath, just as Nuffink had been doing. 

That was not what Toothful was doing. Yes, he was trying to catch his breath, but the labored rbeathing of the dragon tore Nuffink’s heart in two. Blood stained the dragon’s white chest, and it was oozing slowly out of a gaping wound in his side. 

“Oh, Toothful,” Nuffink fell to his knees. “Toothful, buddy, no. Please, ye said ye’d attend me wedding—ye cannae do this, please...” His pleas trailed off. He started focusing on trying to staunch the woud, pressing his thin hands up against it. Toothless let out a small roar of pain. “I’m sorry, buddy, I gotta make sure the—make sure the blood doesn’...” He let out a small sob. 

Toothful licked his hand for the last time.


	4. Valka & Cloudjumper

Valka and Cloudjumper glided lazily around the Hidden World, looking at the glowing eggs and little flitting Fire Worms. They looped around the Great Crystal, taking a nice long look at the beautiful crystalline patterns that decorated its surface. 

Cloudjumper’s wings faltered unexpectedly faltered—a problem that would have once not bothered Valka, but she was not as young as she used to be—dropping Valka into the empty air. 

“Cloudjumper!” She called, panicking slightly. 

The Storm Cutter immediately grabbed her staff in its talons, making the incident nothing more than a quick scare. Valka brushed it off as a one-time thing resulting from their shared old age. “We should rest up.” She spent enough time in the caves to warrant her own sleeping space, and she took full advantage of it. 

“What an odd day,” she hummed, scratching behind Cloudjumper’s spines as he snored softly. “Let’s have a good one tomorrow, hm?” 

There was no answer, but that was alright. Companionable silence was the next best thing, in Valka’s opinion—maybe even first best, now that she thought of it. The dragon’s soft breathing lulled her to sleep, and oddly enough the hard-stone floor did not bother her aging joints as much as it should have. She supposed it had something to do with experience. 

Morning came, though there was no dawn to signify it. A few Terrible Terrors called from the cliff ledges, marking the time in a place where there were no clocks or sundials or birds to do so. Valka woke up and stretched. She was surprised to find that Cloudjumper had not awoken before her. “Cloudjumper!” She laughed lightly. “Come on, boy, you can do better than little old me.” She prodded him jestingly with her staff. 

No response. 

“Cloudjumper?” She asked uncertainly. The dragon did not move an inch—not even the gently rise and fall of his chest, so familiar, was happening. “Oh, no,” Realization hit her—he had died in his sleep. 

She didn’t say anything. She simply caught a Terror and sent a message to her son to come pick her up. Until he arrived, she sat silently beside Cloudjumper in a vigil, staring at the patterns that went over his scales. They were beautiful to look at, but Valka was simply trying to remember all that they had been through together in—gods, had it really been forty years? 

Hiccup did arrive, after a couple days—that was how long it took to sail there—and offered his condolences, even a little chiefly speech to send the dragon off. Stoick would have been proud, Valka was sure, but he was not there to see his son. 

Valka didn’t speak all the way back—not to Hiccup, not to greet Toothless when he inevitably came to visit Hiccup, not to anyone back on New Berk. She began to wonder whether something similar had happened to old Gothi to make her mute. 

After a few weeks she made the request—non-verbally, of course—to be returned to the Hidden World. It was granted, and after that she was never heard from again.


	5. Chapter 5

Hiccup Haddock was an old man, now. His knees hurt—both of them, not even just the one that used the metal prosthetic. His beard and hair were streaked with grey, and wrinkles criss-crossed across his face. Still he went out in his ship, pulling on the ropes and tying the knots himself, accepting aid from no-one, not even Astrid. 

She was not coming this time; one of her nephews was getting married, and she had been asked to officiate rather than the Chief, which was traditional. Hiccup didn’t mind, though—it gave him a free weekend to visit Toothless. 

The ship glided through the mists, waves lapping at its prow. No other sounds were heard, and Hiccup missed the days when Terrible Terrors were still flapping about the skies, free to shriek at whatever ship they deemed fit. 

Hiccup dropped the anchor before his ship could be caught in the current that led to that great waterfall. He had no desire to visit those great caverns again—he was happy to meet Toothless at the border between their two worlds. 

As if on cue, Toothless soared out of the depths. The majestic black dragon dipped down and landed on the rocks on the edge of the world, tilting his head at the oncoming ship bearing his best friend. He rumbled happily, He leapt forward, flying towards Hiccup. 

It was then that Hiccup noticed something was amiss. The dragon’s wingbeats were faster and shallower, and his flight pattern was wobbly and erratic. 

“Toothless!” Hiccup called out, waving his arms. Whether it was a subconscious attempt to guide the dragon to him or merely a greeting, he did not know—but Toothless got slightly more on track then, so it was worth it. As the dragon skidded to a stop on the deck of Hiccup’s ship, a large smile spread across Hiccup’s face. “Hey there, buddy. How are you doing? You’re looking a little wobbly out there, you doing ok?” 

Toothless tilted his head at Hiccup, and Hiccup began noticing a few more things off. Toothless’ eyes were glazed over, and his gums seemed off-color. “Toothless, are you...oh. Oh, gods,” Hiccup tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He recognized the symptoms from years of caring for aging dragons back on Old Berk—Toothless was near death. 

“What do you say, bud?” Hiccup asked softly, scratching under Toothless’ chin. “One more flight together—just for old time’s sake.” 

Toothless made a small noise of agreement, and they took off. 

Despite the dragon’s condition, it was the most vigorous flight that the two had done in ages. It seemed that Toothless wanted to give Hiccup a reminder of the youth they spent together, of the adventures they had, and all the times they had done exactly this to defeat some villain or other. 

They landed again, and Toothless let out a heaving sigh. He flopped down on the deck, blinking at Hiccup. 

Hiccup sat down by the dragon’s head, stroking him gently and singing old Viking songs to him. “I have no use for rings of gold...” HIs old voice quavered and cracked, but Toothless was content with it. “Oh, Toothless,” Hiccup watched as the dragon closed his eyes—closed the eyes that had reflected Hiccup’s fear on that fateful day all those years ago—and his breathing slowed until it stopped. 

Hiccup did not cry much—Vikings did not appreciate people crying. But he did then. He kept stroking his best friend’s cold scales for several minutes before weighing anchor and heading back to New Berk. 

He pulled into the docks they had built at the base of the cliffs. “Summon the village,” He told Snotlout, who was acting as a lookout that day. “A great hero has fallen.” 

Snotlout almost sassed back, but something about Hiccup’s face stopped him. Instead, he simply nodded and blew on the great horn to signal a village gathering. 

Slowly, by ones and twos at first, then in larger and larger groups, the inhabitants of New Berk came down the cliffs to stand solemnly on the docks. 

“We are here today,” said Hiccup in his best chief-ing voice. “To remember a great hero. He saved my life many times—and the lives of others, too. He was a leader--” Hiccup thought of the three dragonlings that Toothless was leaving behind. “--A father--” His voice cracked and the tears trickled down his face anew. “--A friend.” 

Someone handed him a bow. He lit it silently with a torch provided by Nuffink, who stood next to his father. Zephyr was beside Nuffink, and on Hiccup’s right was Astrid. The rest of the old Riders were standing quietly behind him, watching. 

Hiccup drew the bow. 

The arrow flew to the ship that just an hour ago Hiccup had been sailing on, igniting the old wood and cloth sails. It burned brightly in the fog that was beginning to rise, and Hiccup was reminded of a day long before when he had stood in a similar position watching his father drift away from him.


	6. Skullcrusher & Stoick

Stoick leapt. 

He leapt to save his son, to save the future of Berk, to make sure the boy was able to know his own mother, even after all those years. He jumped so that there was some chance of his son and that dragon making peace once more, however odd it seemed. 

He was hit. 

He was hit, and as he was, he offered up one last prayer to Odin. ‘Please, Odin,’ he prayed. ‘Please let him figure it out once more. I know I was less than perfect--’ he thought of that day five years ago when he had tried to stop his son from doing the one thing that he was good at. ‘But please. Let him be sire that I loved him.’ 

He hit the ground, and the ice collapsed on top of him. 

Hiccup screamed. 

He screamed for his father, the one that, though he made mistakes, was the best father Hiccup could have ever wished for, and he screamed with all the rage and grief his slim body could hold. He frantically shoved the ice spikes off the still form of the great man, then fell to his knees and sobbed for all he was worth. 

Toothless was released from his slavery for that moment—probably to torture Hiccup even more. 

And Skullcrusher? 

He roared, just as Hiccup screamed. His roar echoed off the ice and rocks. It drew the attention of all nearby dragons and humans—Hunters and Riders alike. 

Skullcrusher did not have the capacity to take revenge like a human did. 

So, he went to get himself a human. 

‘There,’ He thought—yes, despite the cracks about there not being a brain under all that armor, Skullcrusher was actually quite intelligent. Something you would think people had learned when they first met him, but humans are funny. Skullcrusher stared the new Rider down. ‘The one they call Eret. He has not a Dragon. And I have not a Rider. Perfect.” 

He charged towards the black-haired man—who, understandably, looked terrified—and used his horns to butt him up, up in the air. He took off, flying towards the one that killed his true Rider. 

No, not the Night Fury—that would break the youngling even more, and it wasn’t his fault anyway. Skullcrusher knew enough about the Alpha to know that the Alpha, and the Alpha alone, was responsible. He flew onwards, waiting for his new Rider to offer some help. 

Eret offered no such thing: He was focused mainly on not falling off. 

That was fine. 

This blow would not defeat the Alpha, but maybe it could serve as a sort of revenge. He lowered his head as he flew towards the large dragon’s side. The impact shook both Skullcrusher and Eret to their cores—it reminded Skullcrusher of that first day with Stoick, when they rammed into those rock towers to protect the younglings’ village. 

Skullcrusher went careening off, with Eret still upon his back, howling profanities. 

Once everything quieted—and by that, it is meant that the Alpha left with all the dragons—Eret stood awkwardly behind Hiccup as the arrows flew to ignite the funeral pyre. 

Hiccup’s speech finished and his plan explained, he went to put it into action. 

Eret made him pause by way of a gentle and nervous hand on Hiccup’s shoulder. “Listen, I just...I just wanted to say that I didn’t know your dad, not personally, but, um,” He floundered for the words as he looked into Hiccup’s eyes. “Well, he seemed a fine man. And I’m glad to know his son. As a—a sort of apology to him—for being a Trapper—I swear to-to help you recover the dragons. You have my solemn word on this.” 

Hiccup hesitated for a moment. 

Eret waited for his response with baited breath. He wondered why the opinion of the boy that just days earlier he had been trying to capture suddenly mattered so much to him. 

A small smile appeared on Hiccup’s face. “Welcome aboard, Eret son of Eret.” 

“Really?” Eret was surprised. “You’re...going to let me on? Just like that?” 

“I believe in peace.” Hiccup said firmly. “And I think you do too, somewhere deep inside. Besides, I think Skullcrusher took a liking to you--at least, that’s what it looked like.” 

“Ay, it’d be a shame to let that one go.” Eret agreed.


End file.
